Stephen King's F13 Read Me and Installation Instructions Help file On behalf of Blue Byte Software and Presto Studios, thank you for purchasing Stephen King's F13. We hope you have as much fun using it as we did developing it. To help you get the most out of this product, the following installation notes will instruct you how to install and use each of its various components. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Installing Stephen King's F13 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TIP: Please restart your PC after the installation process is finished. Otherwise, some program parts might run slowly until your PC has been restarted. If AutoPlay is enabled on your system, the installer will launch automatically when the F13 disc is inserted. If not, simply double-click the F13 icon to open up the root directory of the disc, and then double-click "Setup.exe". The installer will prompt you to choose an installation directory. Once you have chosen where you would like the progam installed, the installer will begin copying files. Once the installer reaches the screensavers and DeathTop Backgrounds, it will propmt you to choose an installation option: "Full Install," or "Minimum Install." Choose one of the two options and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process. You can now launch the F13 application installed on your hard drive. To learn how to use the Screensavers, DeathTop Backgrounds, or Bumps and Thumps with your system, please refer to the "How To" section of this Read Me file. Main Menu The Main Menu is divided into two sections: "Play" and "Preview." The two "Play" items on the left side of the menu screen ("Everything's Eventual" and the "Fun House" activities) can be launched and played directly from this menu. The "Preview" items on the right, on the other hand, only access previews of system resources included on the disc. These include "ScreenSavers," "Deathtop Backgrounds," and "Bumps and Thumps" (system sounds). The resources themselves are accessed by installing them with the included installer, then manually activating them using your system's control panels. Following are instructions for installing each type of system resource. ========================================================================= HOW TO.... ========================================================================= --------------------------------------------------------- How to use Bumps and Thumps on your system. --------------------------------------------------------- "Bumps and Thumps" are fun sound-effects designed for use as system event sounds. However, the sound files have been made totally accessible so that you can use them any way you like. Double-click any of the "Bumps and Thumps" sound files to hear them played in Media Player. To assign Bumps and Thumps as your system event sounds, first install them using the provided installer. Next, open "My Computer" and select the "Control Panel." Once the "Control Panel" is open, select the "Sounds" icon, then select a system event, and click the "Browse" button. Select the Drive and Folder where Stephen King's F13 was installed, then locate the "Bumps and Thumps" folder installed within the F13 directory. Select the desired sound, and then click OK. Repeat this process for each individual sound effect. -------------------------------------------------------- How to use Deathtop Backgrounds on your system. -------------------------------------------------------- The Deathtop Backgrounds are bitmap images that can be used as desktop backgrounds or as graphics in your own projects. Note: If your Active desktop is set to "View as WebPage", you will not be able to display these DeathTop backgrounds. To change your Desktop view settings, simply click the right mouse button while the mouse is over a blank portion of the Desktop. Then choose the Active Desktop tab. If the "View as WebPage" setting has a checkmark by it, then select it and click the left mouse button. You will be able to display any type of picture on your Desktop. To install any of the Deathtop Backgrounds as your computer's background image, first use the provided installer to move the desired file(s) to your hard drive. Right click on the desktop, select "Properties," click the "Background" tab at the top of the screen. Please scroll down until you see the background that you enjoy and click once on its name. In the small monitor at the top of the dialog box, you will see a small version of the background as a preview. To choose this background as your Desktop Background, click the "Apply" button at the bottom of the window, then click "OK." Note: If you chose Minimum Install, then you will only have the 800x600 versions of the DeathTop Backgrounds that come with Stephen King's F13. To install the remaining DeathTop Backgrounds to your hard drive, please follow the instructions at the beginning of this Read Me file in the Installer section. ------------------------------------------------------------ How to use Screen Savers on your system ------------------------------------------------------------ As with the Bumps and Thumps and Deathtop Backgrounds, Screen Savers must first be installed onto your computer before you can use them. The installer will automatically put these files in the proper location. To activate an installed Screen Saver, just right-click on the desktop and select "Properties" (or open the "Display" control panel). Click the "Screen Saver" tab at the top of the window and select the desired screen saver from the pop-up menu list (the F13 Screen Savers all begin with "SK"). Click the OK button at the bottom of the window to close the control panel. Note: If you chose Minimum Install, then you will only have 4 of the 7 total Screensavers that come with Stephen King's F13. To install the remaining Screensavers to your hard drive, please follow the instructions at the beginning of this Read Me file in the Installer section. Known Technical Problems: ======================= If you are attempting to run Stephen King's F13 under Windows NT or some early versions of Windows 95, you may receive an error message stating "This product requires the Shockwave Player in order to run. Press OK to download the file from Macromedia's Website." This error occurs because your system does not have the files "msvcrt.dll" and "msvfw32.dll" installed. A easy solution is to visit the www.macromedia.com website and download the Shockwave Player. The Shockwave Player will install automatically take care of any missing files on your system. Otherwise, you may visit your operating system manufacturer's website and download the above two missing files. Then, take these two files and add them to your Windows System directory or your Windows NT System32 directory according to your system type. SciTech Demo ============ In the Blue Byte Product Demos directory you'll find a shareware/trial version of SciTech Display Doctor 6.53. This is not a Blue Byte product, and therefore we cannot offer any technical support regarding this product. Tech Support from SciTech is available to registered (or pre-registered) users at (530) 894-8400 Monday through Friday from 9:00 am - 6:00 pm (Pacific Standard Time).